Spierig Brothers Interview:
Winchester: The House That Ghosts Built
San Jose, California’s most famous haunted house is one of the stars of the new movie “Winchester: The House That Ghosts Built,” for which CBS Films arranged a visit with The Not Old Better Show
Directed by the Spierig Brothers, who, coincidentally, are our guests today, and are best known for the 2017 film “Jigsaw” and “Predestination,” the spooky thriller stars Oscar winner Helen Mirren as the infamous Sarah Winchester.
The troubled heiress to the Winchester rifle fortune, Sarah lived in a bizarre and gargantuan mansion with doors that lead nowhere and windows that open onto brick walls, that she never stopped building. She oversaw construction of a vast labyrinth of a house that went on perpetually, seven days a week for decades, with no end in sight. While Sarah was a famously private and eccentric person, the movie takes us inside her undying quest to build.
Was she running from the ghosts of those slain by the rifle that made her rich? Was she mad? The film suggests the she was building a prison, an asylum for legions of ghosts bent on vengeance.
The Spierig Brothers have their own vision of the recluse, who may not have been as demented as is commonly believed.
“She was a fascinating woman,” said the ever thoughtful Michael Spierig, during our interview at the house last month. “People say she was crazy. I don’t think she was crazy at all, I think she was troubled, and I think she was like an artist. She wished to live on her own terms. The house is her work of art.”
Certainly, over time, many a visitor has reported seeing apparitions lurking amid the maze of a mansion, which has no less than 10,000 windows, 2,000 doors, 47 fireplaces, 40 staircases, 13 bathrooms and nine kitchens.
Winchester: The House That Ghosts Build is written and directed by Michael and Peter Spierig (Predestination, Jigsaw), and produced by Tim McGahan and Brett Tomberlin. The film also stars Sarah Snook (Holding the Man, Steve Jobs), Laura Brent (The Chronicles of Narnia, A Few Best Men) and Jeff Lipary (Sacred Blood, Lumpia 2).
Check out our Winchester interview below and let us know what you think. Are you excited for the film? Leave us your thoughts in the comments below.
